Citizenship

Citizenship education was introduced to enable young people to get involved in their community by looking at different issues that affect society and them as young people. It deals with contemporary issues in the real world.

What will I learn?

GCSE Citizenship is not just about sitting in classrooms. It is about being involved in a community activity which you plan and organise; you will plan a campaign for an issue you really care about. The course allows you to understand your place in Britain and the world and how you can make a change to society.

You will learn how to enquire and research an issue, how to present a convincing argument (and evaluate different viewpoints) and how to take informed and responsible action.

Syllabus Structure

The exam board currently used is Edexcel and the units covered are stated below:

Unit 1. Citizenship Today

(20% of final mark)

This unit is based on the 3 themes:

Rights and Responsibilities

Power Politics and the Media

The Global Community

The exam is one hour long and it is worth 50 marks. All 3 themes are in the exam, there are also source based questions. Students then choose one essay based on a choice of 3.

Unit 2. Participating in Society. Advocacy & Representation

(30% of the final mark)

There are three main skills that make up Unit 2:

Advocacy and representation

Enquiry

Taking informed and responsible actions

Students will need to plan a campaign that raises awareness of an issue they feel strongly about that affects them as young people. They will highlight a charity that works in the same area they have chosen as an issue and will represent their aims to others.

Students will however need to choose one issue from a choice of the following 9 topics:

Political, legal and human rights and freedoms in a range of contexts from local to global.

Civil and criminal law and the justice system – police, youth offending teams, courts, lawyers, prisons and probation.

Democratic and electoral processes and the operation of parliamentary democracy.

The development, and struggle for, different types of freedoms both in the UK and abroad.

The media.

Policies and practices for sustainable development.

The economy in relation to citizenship and the relationship between employers and employees.

Origins and implications of diversity and the changing nature of society in the UK.

The European Union, the Commonwealth and the UN.

Unit 3: Citizenship in Context

(20% of final mark)

The exam is 1hr 15mins long. The area that students will be examined on are be based on the following topics:

Environmental change and sustainable development

Changing communities, social and cultural identities

Influencing and changing decisions in society and Government

Unit 4 Citizenship Campaign

(30% of final mark)

Students will again choose one issue from the nine range and content areas and put together a campaign. The choice of topic must be different to unit 2. The campaign will require you to:

Develop a strategy for an issue

Participate in a campaign

Evaluate the outcomes of your actions

Method of Assessment

There is Controlled assessment with 1 structured task. Assessment is internally assessed and externally moderated.

Controlled Assessment makes up 60 % of the course. There are two units that make up the controlled assessment worth 30 % each. There are also two exams worth 40 % of the final grade.

Homework

Homework will be set in order to support the content delivered in lessons. This will also be used for the purposes of research and setting deadlines for the active citizenship projects.

All lessons are delivered using PowerPoint or notebook. Access to the ICT suite is also an integral part of the course so that students can access up to date information on what is taking place in society. We also use the current Text book validated and supported by Edexcel for this current course.